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Healthy Habits to Maintain Sobriety and Truly Live in Recovery from MTHFR and Alcohol.

Article by Michelle Peterson at recoverypride.org, in honor of April – Alcohol Awareness Month

Making the decision to get clean and sober is only the first step to a healthier life. Once you are in recovery for addiction, you may find that you still lack energy or emotional balance, or the original issue that you were self-medicating is still present. The reality is that it takes more than quitting substances to feel your best. Replacing the unhealthy habits of substance abuse with new healthy habits will not only help you get back to your true self, but it also helps maintain sobriety. If you, like many others seeking recovery, have an MTHFR mutation, then addressing this issue will help in your overall progress. After all, MTHFR and alcohol are linked.

Set a Fitness Goal

It’s no secret that regular exercise is essential for good health, and for someone in recovery, it is one of the absolute best ways to get stronger, both physically and mentally. Addiction takes a toll on your body, which can lead to poor health and a general lack of energy. Simply being active on a regular basis counteracts these feelings, builds strength, and can even reverse poor health. Start out slow, and for the best success in making exercise a habit that sticks, try different activities to find something you really enjoy.

Exercise, especially exercise involving the great outdoors, can help boost health in MTHFR and alcohol abuse or recovery. Thanks for the lovely picture by Hoang Nguyen Xuan from Pexels

Getting in the habit of regular exercise packs a one-two punch in helping contribute to recovery. Along with the physical effects you see and feel, being active also improves your mental health, and mental health is key in both MTHFR and alcohol issues. Managing emotions is crucial for maintaining sobriety, and exercise has been shown to increase the feel-good chemicals in your brain and give you an amazing boost in self-confidence. Look to other inspiring people who have found exercise to help in recovery, such as this Ironman athlete, who was featured by CNN. You don’t have to do an Ironman race, but set a goal to work toward, which will help keep you on track and give you a sense of accomplishment.

Fuel Your Body and Mind

Having a balanced, healthy diet helps you feel better both physically and mentally throughout recovery. It’s common for those in recovery to have nutritional deficiencies, so focus your diet on eating plenty of foods packed with nutrients you need. A good general rule is to eat the rainbow, which means eating plenty of fruits and vegetables of all colors in order to get a full variety of nutrients. While good nutrition makes you stronger and boosts energy, Harvard Health Publishing explains how a diet high in unhealthy fats and sugar can impair brain function and make symptoms of anxiety and depression worse. One of your primary goals in recovery should be to manage stressors and overall mental health to avoid relapse, so the emotional effects of a poor diet are the opposite of what you need.

Manage Your MTHFR

Not only does MTHFR mutation increase the likelihood of alcohol overconsumption, it also makes the nutritional impact of alcohol worse. Alcohol is known to deplete several B vitamins in the body including folate (this is us, MTHFR folks), thiamine, Riboflavin, B6, B12 and vitamins A, E, D and K. In addition to a healthy diet with a rainbow of colors, it is a good idea to supplement B vitamins and methylfolate to bring those levels up to par. This is doubly important if you have a known or suspected MTHFR mutation. Because MTHFR mutations often affect neurotransmitter levels, it is important to start supplementing methylfolate the right way, because taking too much can cause negative symptoms.

Discover a Passion

Exercise and nutrition are the foundations for a healthy body and mind, but you need more in your life to truly thrive. Now is the perfect time to start a new hobby or rediscover a passion from your past. When you’re no longer being controlled by substances, your mind is freed up to discover creativity. Learning a new skill and throwing yourself into a creative endeavor can be incredibly rewarding in recovery. You may enjoy making something with your hands, such as knitting, pottery, or woodworking. This type of hobby adds value to life and can also be a strategy for coping with stressors and triggers.

You may want to find a hobby that involves getting outdoors. This can be anything from taking regular walks in your neighborhood, perhaps with a friend, to outdoor adventures like hiking, mountain biking, or kayaking. Being outdoors, especially if you’re doing something active, is a habit that benefits your health in multiple ways. The vitamin D from the sun is great for your mood, and connecting with nature is grounding.

Finding a new hobby and making that part of your daily life is like icing on the cake when it comes to new healthy habits. When you’re in the throes of substance abuse, caring for yourself is the last thing on your mind, and it’s easy to get away from doing things you really love. Staying committed to recovery requires caring for your physical and mental well-being, and starting these healthy habits helps you accomplish that goal while giving life meaning.

Learning to prevent Alzheimer’s is a topic near and dear to my heart, simply because I have seen exactly how destructive it can be to both those who are struggling with it and to their family. There is a common misconception that Alzheimer’s will neatly eat away at your memory and leave other things intact, but it actually degrades your brain globally destroying memory, personality, skills and social functions. Alzheimer’s destroys everything about the person in a slow, systematic downhill slide. It’s horrible for the person who is struggling and equally hard for their loved ones. Nobody knows exactly what causes Alzheimer’s disease, but there are clearly both genetic and lifestyle components. The great news is that there are many steps you can take to keep your brain healthy and sharp into old age. There is no guarantee that you will be protected, but certainly you can reduce your risk.

Proven Measures to Prevent Alzheimer’s: The Seven Foundations of Good Health.

1. Active body

Physical exercise reduces your risk of Alzheimer’s dementia by 50% – that is a dramatic difference. Also, if cognitive decline has already started then getting more exercise can slow to progress of the condition.

Exercises or activities that increase balance and coordination such as tai-chi, yoga, qi gong, or even stand up paddle boarding can help your brain to develop new connections, strengthen your body and even prevent head injury, which is also a contributor to Alzheimer’s and other forms of memory loss.

2. Active Mind

It makes sense that exercising the brain will help to keep it stronger and more active as you age.

Learn something new, take up a new hobby, or try strategy games, puzzles, riddles or memory games.

Do the same old thing in a different way – take a new driving route to the grocery store, try writing with the other hand or rearrange your kitchen. Doing something a new way pushes your brain to create new neural pathways.

3. Active Social Life

Research shows that the more connected you are to your social group and to other people, the more likely it is that you will do well on test of memory and cognition.

It is easier with age to become more socially isolated so take care to cultivate and maintain healthy friendships and relationships.

If you are in a position with a recent move or transition out of the work force and don’t have great social connections then it is time to build some. Volunteer, take night classes, join a club or social group, visit a community or senior center, get out and about, or get a small part time fun job.

4. Healthy Diet

Alzheimer’s is highly linked to heart disease so adopting a heart-healthy diet will also help you to prevent Alzheimer’s long term. It is also highly linked to diabetes, so managing healthy blood sugars in key in keeping your brain functioning at its best.

Increase the amount of vegetables and fruits that you eat every day especially the darkly or richly pigmented veggies and fruits like blueberries, pomegranate, beets, carrots, raspberries, elderberry, and blackberry.

Minimize the candy, cookies, sweets and also breads in the diet. Alzheimer’s is closely related to diabetes and involves an insulin-resistance within the brain itself so it is important that you maintain healthy blood sugar levels.

A daily cup of green tea has also been shown to reduce your risk and promote brain health.

5. Healthy Sleep

Sleep can be a struggle with age so it is important to create a good sleep environment. Make sure to use good sleep hygiene with a totally dark room, no background noise and a regular sleep schedule.

Use melatonin if you have difficulty falling asleep or sleep lightly. Melatonin by itself has shown great benefit in protecting the health and function of the brain so this could be a double-whammy. Also in a senior population melatonin at high dose, like 20 mg nightly, is safe and possibly advisable because research is showing benefits with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

The average person needs 8 hours of sleep to peak creativity and productivity.

6. Healthy Stress Levels

Every life has challenges, but worrying has never actually solved any of them.

Breathe – stress reduces the amount of oxygen in your brain, so deep belly breathing for a few minutes a couple of times a day can help to re-oxygenate and re-energize your brain.

7. Stop With the Self-Harm.

Avoiding some of the major triggers of Alzheimer’s disease will obviously keep you protected longer.

Quit smoking – smoking has been shown to lead to earlier onset of dementia.

Drink in moderation – excessive alcohol also speeds up the onset of memory loss and dementia, some of which is entirely alcohol related.

Normal brain vs. an alcoholic’s brain. Notice any similarities to the Alzheimer’s brain pictures? Drinking only in moderation helps you prevent Alzheimer’s disease.

Protect your noggin – head injury is strongly linked to Alzheimer’s and protecting your head can help your brain to stay sharp.

As the US population ages the rates of Alzheimer’s disease are rising. Protect your brain and adopt an anti-Alzheimer’s lifestyle. It is literally never too late to make positive change – even if it’s walking around the block every day. There is always something you can do to change your health and well being and to change your disease risk – you can delay or even prevent Alzheimer’s even if you have a family history of the disease. Look to future posts to talk about some of the supplements and specific activities that can be helpful for Alzheimer’s disease.

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* Disclaimer

Amy Neuzil is a Health Coach and Naturopath and not a Medical Doctor or Doctor of Osteopathy. All information on dramyneuzil.com is written from a naturopathic perspective. While Amy and dramyneuzil.com strive to have the most accurate information possible, we do not provide medical or health care advice. Please consult your physician before starting any new supplements or treatments and for any medical questions you may have.